Broken
by gleekout88
Summary: A story that picks up when Paige leaves Emily at the airport. Warning: This is darker and has themes that are darker than my recent fics, this is the only warning.
1. Chapter 1

Walking away in that moment was by far the hardest thing that Paige had ever done.

"Please don't go."

Emily's eyes as she said that are all all she can see now as she walks to her right gate. She stops when she sees her father stepn in front of her.

"What are you doing here?" Paige asks.

"I decided to drive you instead." Nick replies.

"Oh. We still leaving tonight?" Paige asked.

"If we don't go tonight, it will change everything." She heard him mumble.

She was brought out of the daydream by a sharp smack across her face.

"I will not be ignored Ms. McCullers!" The older man yelled.

"Do what you want, it won't change who I am. You can't beat the gay out of me anymore than I can beat the ignorance out of you!" A hard kick to her chair sent her sailing, face first, to the floor. Paige saw stars as her face connected with concrete. A fist wrapping around her collar pulled her up before she even had time to get her bearings. She knew what happened next. It's why she chose to act out today. When Father Adams had a bouncer with him, someone was going to be moved to the outdoor "sanctuary" where they would be punished. And by punish, Paige heard of awful stories. Girls being forced into horrible things. Boys being beaten within an inch of their life.

Paige was prepared. She took several of the knives from dinner. She picked out the sharpest one this morning, sliding it into her sock. She was reminded of it's placement when she hit the floor with her leg being cut from the impact. Stab and run. Stab and run. Paige repeated this over and over until the door flew open and she was shoved into a brick wall outside. The man turned Paige around and attatched his lips to her neck, shoving his hands onto her hips to hold her still.

"You know what happens now right? You just haven't been satisfied by the right man yet. You just need to be shown what a man can do for you that a woman can't." He started to take his belt and unbutton his pants. With his head down, Paige saw the perfect opportunity to grab the knife. Acting swiftly she pulled it out and forced it into the mans side. Screaming at the contact the man fell to his knees, before falling to his side, clutching the knife. Paige took one last look at the man before breaking into a sprint into the nearby woods that seperated the large brick building from the rest of the woods.

Paige ran as fast as she could. She knew where she was. Six miles from Rosewood. A run she could have easily done quicker, if not for her weakend state. She had no idea where she was going to go exactly until she was on the road to the Hasting's house. Headlights from a passing car blinded her. She didn't think anything of it until the car slowed down and made a u-turn towards her. She picked up her pace, best she could, fearing the worst, but knowing Spencer's house was close. As she rounded the path the car came to a halt, a door flying open. As Paige put her foot on the stairs a hand grabbed her hair and pulled her back. Resisting the tug, Paife fell forward from the momentum and landed on the stairs, her cheekbone and left ribs connecting with the steps.

"Why didn't you just stay out Paige?" Nick asked.

Paige crawled as best she could up the stairs, her father looming over her at the landing. The man moved forward, his fist connecting with the already injured side of her face, splitting it open worse than the stairs had done.

"Why are you doing this?" Paige asked.

"I just wanted a normal straight daughter. Not this filthy gay trash!" Nick yelled as he pulled his leg back and kicked Paige with so much force she saw stars and tasted blood. Nick continued to kick Paige until he had forced her into the corner of the porch. Just as he moved to pick her up, headlights shown down the road and the sound of gracel crunching under tires made him drop her and run. Paige heard his car pull away just as another entered the other end of the driveway.

Hearing car doors open and several sets of female voices, all of which sounded familiar, Paige started to relax for the first time in a month and a half. Hearing the voices reach the porch and a set of keys in the door, Paige made a move to roll over, unsucessfully, and causing herself to let out what little noise she could over the blood pouring into her mouth.

"What was that?" one of the voices said.

"Get the flashlight on your phone out, I think it was just an animal." Another voice said.

"Oh my God! It's a person." The first voice said.

Paige noticed the light on her face before someone screamed her name in recognition. The next thing she feels is being lifted off the porch and feeling the warmth of a couch under her back.

"We need to call Emily, Spencer." Hanna telled.

"No, we need to call her parents, Han. She is supposed to be with them in California." Spencer yelled.

Upon hearing about them wanting to call her parents, Paige tried to sit up and yelled out a strangeled "no".

"Paige, it's ok. We will call your dad and let him know whats happened, that your here." Spencer said.

"Don't. He did this." Paige managed to get out before Toby made a move to lay her back down. "Don't!" she yelled at the boy.

"Lets get her to the hospital now. Hanna, you call Em, I'll call my mom/ Toby, get her into my car please." Spencer said.

Noticing the way Paige was fighting off Toby trying to pick her up, Spencer switched places with him. Her stomach turning at the thought of why the broken girl would fight off Toby, hoping she was wrong.

Arriving at the hospital they were met by Veronica Hastings, several nurses and a doctor. While Paige was wheeled away to surgery, Spencer explained everything to her mother. How Paige was on their porch looking mangeled and how she said her father had done it to her. Veronica moved to the side to call the police when Pam and Emily Fields burst into the E.R.. Emily had tears down her face as she made eye contact with Spencer, running to her friend when she saw blood on her and Toby's shirts.

"They just took her back to surgery." Spencer said.

"Who?" Emily asked. "Hanna just said to get here, someone was hurt."

"What? I didn't want to tell her who over the phone." Hanna defended.

"It's Paige, Em." Spencer said to her shocked friend.


	2. Chapter 2

"We did find traces of someone elses DNA under her fingernails. It most likely got there from a defensive scratch. It contained skin, hair and blood." Doctor Erickson said.

"I want that all sent to the police station for testing. Make sure it is put under my name. I will be representing her from here on out." Veronica instructed the doctor, nurse and detective standing with her at the front desk.

"How long until we can talk to her? The sooner we get information, the sooner we can find out who did this." Detective Smith asked.

"I'd say she will be ok for questions tomorrow. We are keeping her heavily sedated right now so she can rest tonight." Doctor Erickson said as he walked back the hall.

"Detective, I think Emily might be able to awnser some questions for us." Veronica said, leading Smith to where Pam and the girls were. "She is out of surgery. They have her sedated so she will sleep through the night comfortably."

"Can I see her?" Emily asked .

"Certainly. But first, Detective Smith her has some questions for you to see if you have anything to help." Veronica stood next to Spencer.

"When was the last time that you spoke to Ms. McCullers?" Smith asked.

"The night she left the airport to go to California. It was six weeks ago." Emily said. "She met me at a gate. Um, gate 15. But she said it wasn't her right one. That her father had texted her and changed it."

"Do you remember which one it was chaged to?" Smith asked.

"No sir. She didn't say." Emily said before breaking down into tears.

"Alright Ms. Fields, thats enough for now. You did good. We can look at survallence videos and find what happened." Smith said before walking away.

"Emily, Pam, follow me." Veronica said as the Fields woman followed her to Paige's room. The gasps out of the Fields woman was heard over Paige's machines.

"No, no, no." Emily mumbled while walking to Paige's bedside. Emily didn't know where to put her hands. Every inch of Paige's skin that was showing, was covered in bruises or cuts. Emily ran her hand through Paige's hair leaning into the girls ear and whispering, "I'm sorry."

"Oh Em." Pam said as she stepped beside the girl. She watched as Emily ran a finger over Paige's left eyebrow, over a cut that ran down the side of Paige's face about two inches.

"She has six stitches at her eyebrow. The rest of the cut wasn't deep enough for stitches so we glued it." A nurse said as she moved about Paige, taking notes from the readings on her machines. "Two broken ribs on her left side. Four other ones are bruised. And as you can see, bruises and smaller cuts all over. Then there is this." The nurse pulled down Paige's blanket, showing her legs, and pointed out a darker bruise around her ankle. "Doctor says it's consistant with being in a tie down. Looks like weeks of old bruising."

At hearing this Emily fully broke down. She placed her hand on Paige's stomach, just below her belly button and layed her head on top of it as she cried. Pam tried to comfort her daughter as best she could through her own tears. She had always known Paige as a strong fighter. Seeing her this way was a shock to both woman. The nurse quietly slid two chairs over to Pam, who sat down and watched her daughter.

"Em, hun, sit down here." Pam said quietly. Emily did as she was told but kept her hand on Paige's belly, feeling the warmth of the other girl.

"I just assumed she left me." Emily said, voice shaking. "When I didn't hear from her. At first I thought she just needed time to settle and adjust. But then two weeks turned into four. And I assumed she just walked away. It never crossed my mind that something had happened to her."

"None of us thought this, Emily." Pam said.

"I should have known. She loved me, I love her. You don't just cut something like that out entirely." Emily said, tears runnuing down her cheeks.

"Lets not do this now, Em." Pam sais as she wiped her own tears from her face and smoothed her hand down Emily's back.

In the hallway Spencer stood waiting for her mother to get done speaking with the detective.

"Mom." She started when her mom turned.

"Yes Spencer?" Veronica asked.

"What is going to happen now?" Spencer asked her mom.

"The cops are out looking for Nick McCullers now. They were able to lift the samples from under Paige's fingernails. Their going to go test it now and see how close it matches to Paige's. When they find nick, he will be tested." Veronica said.

"Did they do a, uh, rape kit?" Spencer asked softly.

"Do they have a reason to do one that you know of Spencer?" Veronica asked, using a finger to lift Spencer's face to hers.

"It's just that, when Toby went to more her, back at the house, she really fought him off. But she didn't do it with me or Hanna. I think they should do one.: Spencer finished with tears in her eyes.

"Ok. I'll go let the doctors know." Veronica turned to walk away, but stopped and turned back around, pulling Spencer into a hug. "I love you." She whispered before kissing the top of the teenagers head and walking away to find a doctor.

"Do you think someone raped her?" Pam asked Spencer, having stepped out into the hallway and hearing the Hasting woman's conversation.

"I hope what I'm feeling is wrong." Spencer said to Pam before being asked to step aside by a doctor and nurse. They entered Paige's room with a box.

'They'll never get Emily out of there." Spencer said with a sad smile.

"That could be a good thing." Pam replied.

The doctor and nurse entered the room quietly and asked Emily to step out of the room.

"I don't want to leave her." Emily responded coldly.

"Ms. Fields, we need to perform a rape kit on Ms. McCullers, we will need a little privacy for your friend." The nurse said.

"Oh God." Emily said as she began to cry again. "She was only with one person before she left Rosewood."

"And you know this for sure, sweety?" The nurse asked.

"Yea. It was me. Shes my girlfriend." Emily said, rubbing her hand on Paige's belly and whispering in the girls ear.

"Just keep talking to her, ok hun?" The nurse said with s sad smile before her and to doctor went to work taking samples from Paige. Emily kept her grip on Paige's hand as tight as her eyes were squeezed shut. Whispering "I love yous" and "Im sorry" in her ear the entire time. Even after the doctor and nurse exscused themselves. Emily remained in that position until she fell asleep with her head beside Paige's, resting on her chin, her mouth at her ear.


	3. Chapter 3

"Emily?" Spencer said from her spot behind the girl. When Emily didn't budge awak, Spencer moved behind her and gave a little shake. Emily juumper at the contact with a gasp. "Hey, it's just me."

"Is she awake?" Emily asked, looking at Paige and seeing the same sight as the night before. Paige lay flat in the bed, only the steady rise and fall of her chest showing a sign of life.

"No change from last night." Spencer said, just as the doctor walked in.

"Hello there. I'm Dr. Nelson. I'll be taking over Paige's care while Dr. Erickson takes a few hours to rest. So he has gone over her case with me, and we have decided to take her off the heavy meds at eight, jus to see what were dealing with. If she seems extremely restless, we will put her back on them for another day to rest some more. Now, that gives us about two hours until she should wake. I'd say go get some breakfast, walk around, get coffee. But be back here at nine. That's by the order of," he looked at his papers before returning his gaze to the girls and smiling. "Veronica Hastings."

"I'm not sure Spence." Emily said after the doctor left.

"You heard him, Em." Spencer said, placing a comforting hand on Emily's shoulder.

"I'm not even that hungry. Where is my mom?" Emily asked.

"She went with my mom to the police station to see what they could find out. Come keep me company in the cafeteria?" Spencer asked.

"Nice?" Emily asked.

"I will have you back by nine." Spencer said. The two made their was to the hospital cafeteria in silence. Emily found a seat while Spencer got the both of them a muffin, fruit cups and coffee.

"You always take good care of me, Spencer." Emily said with a small smile before she started eating her breakfast. On the walk back to Paige's room, Spencer reached over and held Emily's hand.

"No matter what happens, Em, you and Paige, you guys both have me. Han and Aria. We are here for both of you." Looking up, Emily realized they were at Paige's room door. Looking in they see the doctor from before with the nurse from the night before, changing a bag of Paige's I.V. fluid.

"There you are." The nurse spoke quietly. "We are just taking the heavy medication off her I.V. We are replacing it with a milder pain medication. And now we just wait for her body to wake up. Shouldn't be too long now." The nurse turned and wrote some things on Paige's chart. "I'll warn you though, ever with the pain medication, she will be in pain. And we don't know how she will react when she wakes. Just be prepared."

"I'm not leaving her." Emily said, walking to Paige and holding her hand. It took about fifteen minutes before Paige showed any sign of waking. Her face contorted in pain and her breathing became labored as her mind lingered between being awake and being asleep. Her legs kicked a little, and when the nurse heard a slight whimper escape Paige's mouth, she moved in to give her more morphine to relax her. The girl was clearly having a nightmare, but before the nurse could do anything, Emily spoke.

"Let me try first." She spoke to the nurse before turning back to Paige and lowering her lips to the girls ear. "Paige. You are safe. You are safe, and I need you to relax and calm down. Just wake up, Paige. I'm here." Emily continued to whisper in the girls ear as Paige's face began to relax and it seemed she was starting to become fully awake.

"Emily." Paige mumbled out around her sounds of discomfort.

"I'm here." Emily repeated.

"Emily, you have to go." Paige mumbled out, still half asleep, oblivious that she was in the hospital. Emily lifted her hand to Paige's face and brushed her hands along her cheeks. Paige, at first, flinched at the contact, before she settled back down.

"Paige." Emily said.

"Hmm." Paige hummed out before her eye lids slowly lifted up, glazed over from the pain medicine. As quickly as the calm had entered the girl, it was replaced with panic. Paige's heart rate began to pick up and she used a hand to move to try and push herself up in the bed, only to scream out when her ribs protested.

"I'm going to give her something now to help her relax." The nurse said as she stepped forward with a syringe.

"No." Paige yelled out and pushed the nurse's hand away before screaming more, in pain and fear. "Don't you dare."

Emily did the only thing she could think of and grabbed ahold of Paige's face with her hands amd forced the girl to look at her. The girl fought her, bringing her hands up and grasping Emily's wrists tight. Emily moved forward and pressed her lips to Paige's. She could feel the girl trying to move her head beneath her before she stopped fighting.

"Emily." Paige said after the girl pulled back, neither one moving their hands. Her eyes looked more clear when she opened them. "Where am I?"

"The hospital." Emily said. Paige relaxed fully now and settled more into the bed, loosining her grip on Emily but not letting go of the girl. Emily made to move her hands after she felt Paige loosen her grip, only to feel Paige tighten hers again and whimper.

"Don't go." Paige pleaded.

"I won't. I'm just going to move this hand." Emily said as she wiggled the fingers on her right hand. Paige nodded and Emily moved her hand down and rested it on Paige's stomach. Emily moved her head and kissed Paige's forehead, resting her lips there as she started crying.

"You're here and you're safe. You're alive." Emily whispered between sobs onto Paige's forehead.

Spencer stood quietly at the door and watched the scene with tears in her eyes. She knew how conflicted Emily's emotions were right now. She knew Emily was happy to have Paige in her arms. But that the girl was heartbroken by her condition. She watched Emily slowly become more depressed, the more days that passed with Paige gone.

"Emily." Paige whispered again. The girl flinched again as the pain from her ribs and every bruise on her body surfaced again. Her body started shaking as she too started crying.

"I think, maybe, Ms. McCullers, you should have some pain medicine to help you relax some more." The nurse spoke up.

"No." Paige rushed out.

"Paige. It will be ok. I'm going to be right here. I'm not going anywhere." Emily said, moving her hand on Paige's belly, lulling the girl to sleep as the nurse moved and put morphine in the I.V. line. "I love you, Paige." Emily said to the girl. It was the last thing Paige heard before the darkness took over once more. To her, it felt as if she was thrown right back into her nightmares, with no chance of waking up thanks to the drugs.

 _When she woke she was right back in her tiny room. Cement floor and plastered white walls. She was lying in bed, unable to move off of it, thanks to the cuff around her ankle that was held to the wall by a heavy chain. She tried to fight against it. So hard, that she saw blood above the cuff, angry bruising starting to form. When she turned her head towards the tiny window in her room she saw that it was still night. That's when she heard the voices outside her room. She stilled. She knew what was coming. If you weren't asleep by a certain time, they came in your room and drugged you. She hated it, so she closed her eyes and kept as still as possible. She saw light, but heard them make their way down the hallway. Entering one of the rooms, she heard them yell, followed by screaming. Paige cried herself to sleep that night. Like every night since she had gotten there._

When she opened her eys again she saw that she was back in the hospital room. She felt Emily's hand on her stomach, stretched from the chair beside her bed so that her head lay on the side as she slept. Paige lay awake for a few moments looking at Emily and watched her sleep, for the first time in a long time, she fell asleep on her own.


	4. Chapter 4

"It's my opinion, and with the lack of any evidence the doctor found, I'll say that Miss McCullers was not raped." Detective Smith said. "We will have her confirm that when she is more stable. We did some skin swabs around her neck where there were bruises and managed to lift some DNA off it. We will add it to her file for when we have a suspect. As for the where abouts of Nick McCullers, it's like he has vanished. No sight, no credit card or bank transactions. But we are not giving up. We will find the bastard. We have undercovers all over town, and sitting in their old house." Detective Smith exscused himself from the small room he, Veronica, Pam and Dr. Erickson were currently occupying.

"Well that is certainly better news than I was expecting." Pam said.

"Me too." Veronica agreed. "I just hope Paige can confirm it."

"She should be fully awake within the next few hours. Hopefully we won't have to sedate her anymore." Dr. Erickson said. "She was still sleeping when the other doctor left her this morning."

"She needs all the rest she can get now. She is safe here." Veronica said.

"And what about when she is released?" Pam asked.

"Rest assured that that won't be happening soon." Dr. Erickson said. "We want to keep her under observation for awhile. Make sure she is mentally ok, as well as physically. She has a few weeks here, tops."

"And after?" Pam asked.

"I already checked. Her mother is nowhere to be found. No living grandparents, and both parents were only children. In the case that Nick McCullers is the one responsable for all of this, she is more than welcome to live with my family." Veronica said.

"There is no doubt in my mind that that arrogant bastard did this. The things he said about my daughter the night of that home swim match. I know it was him." Pam said through tears.

"We will put him away for a long time when they catch him." Veronica assured Pam. Just then Dr. Ericksons pager went off. Looking down the two women saw the worried expression that appeared on his face.

"Come with me." "He told them as he got up and sprinted out of the room. When they rounded the corner to the hall Paige was in they saw the comotion at her door. A nurse was holding a screaming Emily back as Spencer tried to calm her down.

"What the hell happened?" Pam asked when she got close enough to the girls.

"We went to get coffee and when we came back to the room Paige had completely flipped out. I think her dad was here." Spencer said, her mother using her phone to call Detective Smith.

"I need a male nurse to help me. She has a weapon and she will need to be sedated." Dr. Erickson said when he stepped back out into the hallway.

"No!" Please let me go in! She is just scared!" Emily yelled as she fought against the nurse.

"Let me try." Pam said to Dr. Erickson, who nodded and stepped aside for her. "Stay with Spencer, Emmy."

When Pam stepped into the room she was starteled at what she saw. Paige was sitting in the corner, knees pulled up to her chest. She had one arm clutching her injured side, the other arm was extended in front of her, her hand clutching a scapel. When Pam looked at the girls face, her heart broke. Paige's eyes were wide with fear, bloodshot, tears streaming down her face. She was starring off into space, no idea Pam was in the room with her.

"Paige?" Pam asked. "Paige." She said louder and more stern. Paige looked up at the sound of the familiar voice and made eye cotact with Pam. "You're safe Paige."

"No! I'm not safe anywhere!" Paige yelled in pain. "He is here."

Pam took a step closer to Paige and crouched so that she was at eye level with the girl. She reached a hand out slowly and covered Paige's, that held the scapel.

"I'm here. And Veronica has every police officer in Rosewood headed here to get.." Pam trailed off, wanting to get Paige to say who.

"My dad." Paige said as she dropped the scapel and began to cry hard. Pam moved swiftly and hugged Paige to herself as gently as she could, kicking the scapel away.

"How about I help you back into bed. Emily is waiting for you in the hallway." Pam said with a sad smile. With some effort, Pam was finally able to get Paige settled on her bed. "Look Paige, I know your scared. I don't have any idea what you have gone through, what you were put through, but there are a lot of people in that hallway that want to help. That are here to protect you. That love you, just the way you are." Pam leaned in and kissed Paige's forehead, her hand holding one of Paige's.

"You never hurt Emily." Paige said quielty.

"Maybe not in this way. But I didn't accept who she was right away. And I said things that hurt her. I wasn't mad at her. I was scared for her. What's happened to you, is why I was so scared when she told me. Bad things happen in this world, Paige. And I was afraid that one of them would happen to my Emmy. And then I realized what I was doing, and how it must have made her feel. I didn't want to cause her the pain that I was afraid the rest of the world was going to show her." Pam said through tears.

"The chained us to the wall, everynight so we couldn't run away." Paige said, tears running down her face. "Then they would do sleep checks, to make sure no one was awake. If you were awake past curfew, they would come into your room..."

"Paige, sweety, were you raped.?" Pam asked slowly and quietly, fearing the awnser.

"No." Paige said as she fully broke down. "I faked being asleep every night so it wouldn't happen to me. But I could hear other girls down the hall screaming as it happened to them."

"Oh, thank God." Pam said as she hugged Paige to her.

"Excuse me ladies. Just wanted to know if you would like something to help you sleep, Miss McCullers." Dr. Erickson said.

"Paige. And yes, I think that would be a good idea." Pam said Paige's name when she saw the way the girl flinched at the mention of her last name. Once Paige was settled back into bed, I.V.s hooked back up and was given a shot to help her relax and sleep, Pam stood to leave the room. "Shall I send in Emily?"

"Actually, can you stay with me until I fall asleep?" Paige shyly asked.

"Of course!" Pam said as she pulled a chair up beside Paige and held onto her hand. Just before Paige had fallen asleep she heard her door creak open and the faint sound of someones voice saying, "we got him."

A/N: I know! And I am so sorry for the delay. I'm not even going to make an excuse, I suck. Hopefully this will be the start of some steady updates. Hopefully.


	5. Chapter 5

_Paige lay awake staring off into the darkness of her room. She had no idea what time it was, but judging by how quite her surroundings were, she guessed it was before five in the morning. After five, she could usually hear the "bouncers" going room to room to wake the others. Paige lay still, waiting for them to come into her room to unchain her from the walls. The chain was tight around her ankle. Too tight. Or at least, tighter than the night before. She had given them a bit of a fight the night before when they tried to put her in her room. It ended with a fist to Paige's stomach and the raw bleeding ankle she was currently trying to soothe. Suddenly her door was thrown open and she was momentarily blinded by the lights in her room flicking on._

 _"You going to give us any trouble today, Ms. McCullers?" One of the men said as he bent down to undo the lock._

 _"No." Paige grumbled lowly._

 _"What was that?" The man shouted as he back handed her across her face._

 _"Now, now Rick. No reason for violence." Paige heard the voice of Father Thomas behind Rick. The man entered Paige's room and sat at the foot of her bed. Paige could see he was wearing a rubber glove on one hand as he lifted it to grab ahold of her bloody and bruised ankle, applying pressure. "I think perhaps, she is starting to learn the rules around here. Or at least, she will."_

Paige's eyes flew upon wide from the nightmare she was having, her hand flying to her face to push the hand away the was caressing her cheek.

"It's ok, Paige. It's just me." Emily said as she soothed her hand back over the girls cheek. "Breathe slower for me. Focus on my hand." Emily moved her hand in a slow circle on Paige's stomach. She focused on Emily's hand moving and slowed her breathing down to match it.

"Hi." Paige said after she had settled back down.

"Bad dream?" Emily asked.

"It's a never ending nightmare." Paige said as she closed her eyes and tried to stretch. Her face contourted as she felt the pain from her ribs. "What's the damage?"

"Six stitches above your eyebrow. Two broken ribs on your left side, four bruised on the right. Smaller cuts and bruises all over. And your ankle..." Emily trailed off as she moved to lift Paige's sheet to get a better look at it.

"Probably looks like it feels." Paige stated. The two sat in silence, Paige with her eyes closed trying to find a comfortable position. Emily watched her wiggle around on the bed and shift until she finally settled in a position.

"I thought you left me." Emily said quietly.

"What?" Paige said as she opened her eyes.

"When I didn't hear from you." Emily paused as her lip quivered and tears formed in her eyes. "I selfishly thought, that you had left me."

"Em." Paige said, trying to sit up. She grunted and pulled her left arm to her side. "Who would have thought that this was what happened?"

"Stop moving." Emily spit out through her tears, a hint of anger in her tone. Paige froze, wide eyed. "I'm so stupid! I was at home crying, thinking that you left me, while you were in that...that..."

"Church." Paige finished Emily's sentence, realizing the girl had no idea where Paige had been the whole time.

"What?" Emily asked.

"My father sent me to a church. A church that tried to "pray the gay out of me." Only there was no praying involved." Paige said as she stared off out the window.

"I want to know." Emily said, taking Paige's hand in hers.

"I don't want you to." Paige admitted, looking into Emily's eyes. "I don't want you to know the kind of things they do there." Paige said, tears streaming down her face. "What a parent can subject their kid to."

"Paige, how can I help you if I don't know what happened?" Emily asked.

"You really want to know?" Paige asked Emily, her tone menacing. "How they would let us go days without eating if one of us spoke out of line. Locking us in our rooms and chaining our leg to the wall so we couldn't run away. That's what the bruise is on my ankle. I didn't say "sir", so I was chained to the wall tighter than normal that night! Watching as they beat the boys so bad that some of them couldn't move the next day! Or laying in bed at night pretending to be asleep so that they didn't come into your room and "show you how a real man treats you", having to hear other girls being raped! Is that what you want to hear?" Paige was full on crying and spitting the words out with anger. "How could any parent do that?"

Emily watched as Paige finally broke down, and wasted no time in embracing her as much as she could without hurting Paige. "I am so sorry Paige."

"I just wanted to die." Paige admitted.

"Don't say that." Emily whispered.

"It's true. But then I remembered why I was trying to stay alive. What I was planning to get out of there for. You." Paige said after she had setteled down enough to talk. "I love you. And I don't ever plan on leaving you again."

"Well thats good. I never plan on letting you leave. I love you too." Emily said. "Do you need anything?"

"Maybe a drink?" Paige said. Paige watched as Emily flitted around the room to get her ice water from the bathroom sink. "This is by far, the most uncomfortable I have ever been. And that is counting the sex talk I had with your mom." She laughed out. Paige watched as Emily smiled at the comment before watching a small frown form on her lips, her eyebrows drawing together as she thought. "What?"

"Paige, you said other girls were raped. Were you?" Emily asked, afraid of the answer.

"No, I wasn't." Paige said. Emily layed her head down on Paige's bed and cried softly.

"I've just been thinking the worst. I was in here sitting with you when the doctor and nurse came to do the rape kit. I'm just so relieved." Emily said.

"Come up." Paige said.

"No Paige, your hurt." Emily started before Paige forcefully pulled on her hand.

"I just spent the last..."

"Month." Emily finished when she saw Paige blank.

"Month?" Paige asked. "I just spent the last month without you, please just get up here." Emily obliged, climbing into bed beside Paige, setting her hand on her stomach and resting her head on her shoulder.

"They found your father." Emily said quietly after they had both setteled into a comfortable silence.

"Ok." Paige said after a few seconds of processing. "What happens now?"

"I don't know. But Veronica Hastings is handeling your case." Emily said "She said she would be in within the hour to give you all the information she has."

"Well with a Hastings on my side, I guess I won't lose." Paige said with a nervous laugh.

"What is it?" Emily asked.

"Im scared." Paige admitted after a few silent moments.

"Me too." Emily said.

Both girls had drifted off to sleep by the time Veronica arrived back at the hospital. Cracking open the door to Paige's room Veronica stuck her head inside and saw that both girls were peacefully resting. She hated to wake them, seeing as how Emily hadn't slept since she found out Paige was her, and the other girl hadn't look that content since arriving. But she knew that she had to give Paige some kind of good news out of this mess.

"Hate to wake them?" Spencer asked as she saw her mom watching the two girls rest. She was sitting in a chair off to the side of the room, by the window, reading a book.

"Yes." Veronica said as she slipped in and sat in the empty chair by Spencer. "What are you doing?"

"A little light reading." Spencer said with a chuckle as she held up a novel. "I figured if one of them woke up upset, they would need some kind of support."

"Their lucky to have good friends." Veronica said as she placed her hand on Spencer's knee, giving it a light squeeze.

"I wasn't always so supportive of them, but Paige has grown on me. If I was going to give Emily to anyone, Paige has proven she can take care of her." Spencer admitted. "Their just going to need a little support right now."

"Yes they will." Veronica said. She stood and kissed Spencer's forehead before she made her way quietly to the bed. Shaking Paige a little to wake her. "Paige."

"Hmmm.." Paige said as she was waking up.

"It's Veronica, Paige." Veronica offered when she saw Paige tighten her hold on Emily, whimpering when the pressure hit her ribs.

"Paige." Emily said as she sat up.

"It's ok girls. It's just Spencer and me." Veronica said.

"What's going on?" Emily asked as she settled back down beside Paige, mindful of the girls injuries.

"I just wanted you to know that we have Nick in custody. He has confessed to everything. Sending you away and what happened the other evening. We are waiting for his lawyer to get to the jail to proceed further. There is one other thing." Veronica said.

"What?" Paige asked.

"He asked the judge to see you before we proceed." Veronica said.

"No way!" Emily and Spencer both spoke at the same time.

"Girls, this is not your decision." Veronica said.

"It shouldn't be Paige's either!" Spencer yelled.

"Why is this even up for discussion?" Emily asked.

"Em." Paige said softly.

"What Paige? After everything he put you through." Emily said.

"Maybe he wants to apologize." Paige said with a light laugh.

"Paige, this isn't the time to make jokes." Emily said. "This man doesn't just get to jerk you around like this."

"He is my father Emily." Paige grumbled.

"Hardly." Emily spat back.

"It is your choice Paige. The judge said he can only see you before the trial if you want him to. You will have to see him when the trial starts, but before that is your decision." Veronica said.

"I want to see him." Paige said.

"What?" Emily and Spencer said at the same time.

"Paige, you can't be serious." Emily said.

"I am. And I do. I need to." Paige said.

"Ok then. I'll set it up." Veronica said.


	6. Chapter 6

Paige watched as a police officer stepped into her room, followed by another. between them she could make out the orange of a jumpsuit that prisoners wear. Two officers flowed and closed the door behind them. Paige stared at the floor in front of the officers until a pair of white shoes stepped into her view. looking up Paige realized that it was her father. A man, up until two years ago, she once looked up to. Admired.

Now he was standing in front of her in a orange jumpsuit. Face more aged and wrinkled than she could remember. Every hair on his head, grey. She barely recognized the man in front of her. The business man, deacon of the church, who was now surrounded by four police officers, handcuffed.

"Thats close enough, McCullers." one office said as he out a hand on Nick's shoulder.

"Alright, alright." Nick said, wincing at the contact.

"Shoulder hurt?" Paige asked.

"Yes." Nick mumbled.

"Hurt, tackling me to the ground, didn't it?" Paige asked.

"Yes." Nick said, looking up and making eye contact with Paige for the first time. "Should have pushed you harder."

"That's enough!" Toby yelled, stepping to the front. Paige relaxed a little more seeing him in his uniform.

"That isn't what I meant!" Nick yelled. "In the pool, in life! I should have pushed you more."

"You pushed me plenty, what would have more fighting done?" Paige asked.

"Kept you out of that girls bed!" Nick yelled.

"I think maybe its time to go." Toby said to the other officers.

"You sinned Paige. And you needed to see how you were supposed to live. Supposed to love." Nick said.

"Supposed to love? Do you have any idea what they do in there?" Paige all but yelled. "They beat and rape people! They chained me to a wall for three days and left me there! I went days without food or water. I have scars that are never going to go away because they hit he with belts!"

"I didn't know!" Nick yelled. "I didn't know."

Paige watched as her father crumbled and fell to his knees on the floor. He put his hands on his face and cried into his hands. She remembered the first and last time she had seen her father cry. The first was at his mothers funeral. Sitting in a chair starring at her coffin. The last time was when he had dropped her off at that horrible place. She watched tears run down his face as two men hauled her into the brick building, kicking and screaming for him.

"I asked you, begged you not to leave me there." Paige said.

"I had to." Nick said. "It was the only way to fix you." But before Paige could respond Toby grabbed Nick and pulled him off the floor and out the hospital room door.

"I'll send one of the girls in." Toby said. "Are you ok?"

"I kind of just want to be alone right now, Toby. Thank you, but I don't want anyone to come in right now." Paige said as she looked out the window, holding back tears. As soon as she heard the door click closed they started to fall. She didn't remember falling asleep. But when she woke her room was dark, except for the light on the back wall behind her, and a nurse was reading her vitals and writing them down on her chart.

"There she is." Nurse Miller said.

"Hi." Paige said quietly.

"I'll take it things went horrible?" Nurse Miller said.

"I didn't know what I was expecting." Paige said, looking off into her room.

"An apology maybe?" Nurse Miller asked.

"Something." Paige said. "Anything other than, "I was trying to fix you."

"As far as I can see, the only thing needing fixed is your ribs and a few bumps and bruises." Nurse Miller said, with a soft smile. "Want me to send anyone in?"

"Not right now." Paige said, wincing as she moved.

"Want something for the pain?" Nurse Miller asked.

"Actually, yes, I would like something." Paige said, defeated. She watched as the nurse took a shot out of her pocket and ejected it into her iv. Almost immediately Paige's eyelids grew heavy.

"There are a lot of people in that hallway for you, Paige. They will be ready when you are." Nurse Miller said before walking out. "Not yet, dear." She said with a raised hand as Emily jumper to her feet when she saw the nurse come out of Paige's room. "She just needs a little alone time to process."

"Thats never a good thing with Paige." Emily said as she looked through the window at the girl.

"She is safe here. I will make sure nothing else happens to her while she in in my care. She did finally ask for something for the pain though. So, that is a change."

"I just hope its a good one." Emily said.

 ***I'm back! I can't even begin to apologize and explain. The fact of the matter is, life took over for awhile, but I am here now. I want to write the rest of this story for those of you who have stuck it out this long. I promise to update more frequently than before. Maybe once a week. And they will be longer than this chapter, just wanted to give you a little something to get the mood back ;). The story starts to take its dark turn after this chapter.**


	7. Chapter 7

Paige wasn't sure how long she sat in bed looking out the window. She knew that it was long enough that the sun was now coming up. But she didn't know what time Toby had drug her father out of the room. She knew it was dark then. Nurse Miller kept popping in and checking on her after she woke from sleeping. It was the first time she slept for a few hours without startling awake, or having a nightmare. Over time, before the older nurse walked out of the room, she would stop and ask Paige if she would like someone to come in and sit with her. And every time she would have to step into the hallway and tell Emily, "not right now."

Truth was, Paige didn't know what she wanted. She didn't know how she was supposed to feel right now. She was scared and tired. She was angry at her father, but at the same time felt so lost. She was all alone now. He mother had disappeared. Two weeks before Paige had been told they were going to California. She just packed her bags in the middle of the night. Leaving only a note that said "I can't do this anymore."

Now Paige wondered if the message was about what her father had planned. Had her mother known and just left? Chose to let her daughter fall into her father's trap. And worse, she hadn't even told Emily about her mother leaving. She just told her that she had left to get things ready for California, on one of the nights that Emily stopped by her house and asked where her mother was.

She didn't want Emily to pity her. She didn't want anyone to pity her. And now, here she was. Every time someone came through the door and looked at her damaged body, laying in bed, they gave her that look. The pity look. She didn't want people to feel sorry for her. She just wanted things to go back to normal.

But what was normal now? Everything Paige thought was going good in her life, wasn't. Was Stanford still on the table? Surely now, her body broken and beaten, would be in no form to swim. At least not anytime soon. Or at all. What was going to become of her? She had no family left. Her father was headed for jail, and frankly, she didn't care where her mom was. After all she had left her. Let her with her father and his evil plan. It made Paige sick to her stomach to think it through. How long had this plan been on the table? She was pulled out of her thoughts by the churning in her stomach as she reached for the small bowl on her bedside table. Unable to reach it she slumped over her bed and emptied the contents of her stomach onto the floor.

"Oh my." Paige heard nurse Miller say as she entered the room. "Lets get you cleaned up and call a janitor."

"I'm sorry." Paige said, as tears filled her eyes, her throat and stomach burning.

"It is really ok, Ms. McCullers." Nurse Miller said as she played Paige back in the bed. "Happens all the time."

"Please don't call me that." Paige said. "I don't want to hear that name."

"Yes Paige." Nurse Miller said. "How about you call me Tammy. We can be on a first name basis with each other."

"Thank you, Tammy." Paige said as she closed her eyes and tried to calm her stomach down.

"Maybe some crackers and ginger ale will calm your stomach down. I'll go get them." Tammy said as she went to exit the room.

A few minutes later there was a knock on her door. Paige didn't register it and still had her eyes closed when the janitor walked in. He was wearing a blue jump suit and was pulling a mop behind him. He thought that Paige was asleep so he moved quietly to clean up the mess by the bed.

"Get out!" Paige yelled when she opened her eyes and saw the stranger standing by her bed. "Get out!"

"I have to clean this mess up." The janitor said to Paige calmly.

"Get out of my room!" Paige yelled as she made to get out of bed. "You are supposed to be in jail!"

"What is with all the yelling in here?" Tammy said as she entered to the room again to see Paige standing on one side of the bed with the janitor on the other. Emily, having heard the screaming was standing behind Tammy.

"How did he get in here?" Paige yelled, pointing to the janitor. "He is to be in jail!"

"Paige, that is Roy, the janitor." Tammy said as she approached Paige.

"No!" Paige said as she put her hand out in front of her to stop Tammy. "Leave! Everyone out! I don't know how you got back in here, but I will call security."

"Paige." Emily yelled firmly, pulling the girls attention to her. She stepped around Tammy and started making her way to Paige, slowly. "Who do you think that is?"

"Its Nick." Paige said the name with such venom it made Emily wince.

"Babe, its not him. He is locked up. Toby escorted him to prison. That is the janitor." Emily said, noticing now what was on the floor, and that Paige had been sick.

"Roy, dear, how about you leave those things and when I am done I'll bring them down to you." Tammy said to the shaken janitor.

"Yes ma'am." Roy said as he excited the room.

"Now what happened Paige?" Tammy asked as she stayed where she was, watching as Paige looked at Emily.

"I don't know. I was in bed one minute with my eyes closed and the next thing I know he is standing by my bed. The janitor?" Paige asked.

"Yes, Paige. That is Roy, the janitor." Tammy said.

"He was in a jumpsuit, and it is a little dark in here…" Paige said as she began to cry. Emily made to steps to get close to the girl only to have Paige deny her. "Please don't."

"Paige, I.." Emily started, but was cut off.

"No. Please just go Emily. Go home. I can't have you here with me like this. I can't let you look at me like that." Paige pleaded.

"Like what Paige?" Emily asked, tears forming in her eyes.

"Like some sad little puppy someone just kicked!" Paige yelled. "Leave."

"I am not going anywhere, Paige." Emily said with determination.

"I can't have you here." Paige said.

"Maybe some space." Tammy said as she placed a hand on Emily's shoulder. The girl shook it off.

"You're not doing this." Emily said, taking a step towards Paige. Paige just kept a straight face, staring at the girl. "You're not going to push me away Paige."

"I don't want you here. I don't need anyone." Paige said calmly.

"where do you think you are going to go? Who are you going to stay with? Paige, you need help, and it's ok to ask for it." Emily said, reaching out and taking Paige's hand in her own.

"No." Paige said as she backed up. "Just go, Emily."

"I'm not giving up." Emily said as she made her way out of the room. Paige turned back around and looked at Tammy.

"I like her." Tammy said with a smile. "Now get back in bed." A few hours later Paige was sitting looking at Veronica Hastings.

"So they have decided to release you." Veronica said.

"To who? I have no family around." Paige said, fiddling with her thumbs.

"With my family." Veronica said. "They said you can go home first thing tomorrow morning. It will be quite at the house. Spencer will be in school and Melissa and myself will be at work until 4. Peter has meetings out of town. The judge in your trial has decided you can stay with me until your 18. Which, according to Emily, is only two months away. After that, you can stay longer, if you'd like, or you can leave. No one here is abandoning you, Paige. Emily, Spencer, Hanna and Aria are all her for you. My family is here for you and will keep you safe."


	8. Chapter 8

"So, you're going to be staying with the lawyer lady and her family. They seem like good people." Tammy said as she came in to give Paige her medication before dinner.

"They are good people." Paige said, not looking at Tammy, but rather looking out the window.

"Something bothering you?" Tammy asked, stepping into Paige's line of sight.

"What do you think?" Paige asked.

"You really want to know?" Tammy asked.

"Yes." Paige said.

"I think you are being a little rude." Tammy said.

"Excuse me?" Paige asked, taken back.

"People want to be there for you Paige. They want to help you. That Emily girl, won't go home. The lawyer lady, Veronica, she has been working at the nurses' station nonstop, on the phone and on her laptop, just to make sure that you get all the help you need. Her daughter is often with her. I know you have gone through something terrible. I don't know what is going on in your head right now. What I do know..." she paused and grabbed Paige's hand, making sure the girl was looking at her. "is I have been doing this job for 42 years. I have helped and worked with thousands of patients. Cancer patients, rape victims. Folks who have lost loved ones, hundreds of which were newborns. But not once, have any of those patients had a support system willing to work that hard for someone. Not once Miss Paige." She dropped Paige's hand and turned to walk out. "But what do I know? I'm just an old lady."

"Tammy?" Paige asked.

"Yes?" She said as she turned to face Paige again.

"Can I have something to help me sleep tonight?" Paige asked.

"Yes." Tammy said, eyeing the girl.

"And can you send Emily in?" Paige asked.

"Yes, Miss Paige." Tammy said. "She is asking for you. Go ahead in, I'll be back with her dinner and something to help her sleep."

"Hey." Emily said as she peeked her head into the room.

"Hey. Come in." Paige said, moving over in her bed so that Emily could sit beside her.

"How are you feeling?" Emily asked as she sat down beside Paige and took the girls hand in her own.

"Sore." Paige said, looking down at their joined hand.

"Ok. So, you're going home with Veronica tomorrow?" Emily asked.

"I guess I am." Paige mumbled. Emily raised her free hand and placed it on Paige's face, running her thumb over the few stitches above her eyebrow.

"This is going to scar." Emily said.

"Probably." Paige mumbled. After a moment, she turned her attention from the window to Emily. "Tomorrow is Monday."

"Yes." Emily said with a questioning look.

"You have to go to school tomorrow." Paige stated.

"I don't have to. We only have a month and a half of school left." Emily said.

"Emily, you need to go to school tomorrow." Paige said.

"I will come over to Spencer's as soon as I get out." Emily said.

"I know you will" Paige said.

"Ah, nice to see someone else in here." Tammy said as she entered the room, holding a dinner tray. "I brought dinner." She set the tray down on Paige's tray table and slid it in front of her. She then took a syringe out of her pocket and used her I.V. port to administer it. "Eat up before this puts you to sleep. I'll be back in a few to check on you."

"Let's see what she brought you for dinner." Emily said as she took the cover off the tray. "Chicken salad."

"I'm not really hungry." Paige said, already feeling the medication making her eyelids heavy.

"Paige you need to eat. Nurse Miller said you haven't ate since they brought you here." Emily said, unwrapping the silverware.

"I'm not hungry, Em." Paige said, closing her eyes and leaning her head back into her pillow.

"Paige…." Emily started to protest but stopped when she noticed that Paige was lightly snoring. She looked at the girl's face, noticing that the dark circles that were under her eyes the first night that Emily saw her, had someone become a shade darker. The bruise around eyebrow and stitches had turned a deep purple, with blue and green mixed in. She looked down at the hand she was still holding and noticed the bruises and small cuts on it. She turned the hand she was holding over and noticed the scar on her wrist. She ran her finger over it, recalling the night that Paige had told her about it.

 _"Hey babe!" Paige said as Emily came through the front door into her house. Paige walked over to her and pulled her into her, giving her a passionate kiss. "Mom and Dad just left."_

 _"Hmmm. House to ourselves." Emily said as she put her arms around Paige's neck, pulling the girl closer to her._

 _"Yea." Paige said as she pulled away, grabbing Emily's hand and pulling the giggling girl up the stairs._

 _"Well, well, Ms. McCullers, are you trying to make a move on me?" Emily asked as Paige backed her up against her bedroom door._

 _"Depends on if its working or not." Paige said, placing small kisses on Emily's neck._

 _"Oh yea, it always works." Emily said as she pushed Paige towards the bed._

 _"What about this one?" Emily asked about the scar on Paige's shoulder. They were laying in Paige's bed wrapped in a sheet. Paige was laying on her front and Emily was dropped over her back asking about scars she would find on the other girl's body._

 _"My cousin hit me with a toy when we were little." Paige said._

 _"What about the one I saw on your lower back, right here." Emily said as she ran her hand over the scar that was just above her left cheek, between her back dimple._

 _"I actually fell off a horse, like four years ago." Paige said after a shiver went through her body and the touch. "Remember, freshman year when I had to sit out a few practices and a competition race? That is why."_

 _"I didn't know you rode horses." Emily said._

 _"Well, not anymore. After missing some swim practices, Dad put an end to that." Paige huffed out._

 _"Well, based on the size of the scar, that was probably a good thing." Emily laughed out._

 _"Hey! That was a one-time thing." Paige said. They lay there for a few more minutes in silence. Emily was running her hands down Paige's arms, relaxing the other girl to the point that she was almost asleep. Then she felt a small scar there. Right over her pulse point. A solid straight line._

 _"What about this one?" Emily asked. She felt the girl beneath her stiffen as she ran her finger over the scar._

 _"Uhh…" Paige stuttered._

 _"You don't have to tell me about it, but I want to know if you feel like sharing." Emily said as she crawled off Paige and played in front of her._

 _"I want to tell you. I don't want there to be secrets between us." Paige said. "This one is just a little harder to talk about."_

 _"Take your time." Emily said._

 _"It was one that I did to myself, when Alison was still around and making my life hell." Paige said. "I didn't know how to deal with it, but this…" Paige said as she covered Emily's hand with her own, that was still on the scar. "I could control this feeling. For the first time in a while, I controlled what I was feeling. Even if it was small and only lasted a little while. And then Alison disappeared."_

 _"And now she is back." Emily stated._

 _"Yea." Paige mumbled._

 _"Paige." Emily stated._

 _"I'm fine, Em." Paige said, running a hand over Emily's face. "When Alison came back, I went back to therapy. I never stopped taking medication for depression. I just stopped the therapy sessions when I got a hold of things."_

 _"Why didn't I know that? Any of that?" Emily asked as she sat up, pulling the sheet around her body to cover herself. Paige followed and sat up to._

 _"Well, to be fair, when it started, we weren't close. We weren't even friends." Paige said._

 _"So when did it start exactly?" Emily asked._

 _"Eighth grade. When we came to high school and I joined the swim team, it let up a little. Then that whole fiasco with Alison finding that letter I wrote to you... That is the day I did this." Paige said as she held up her wrist._

 _"So that night when you came to my house in the rain?" Emily asked._

 _"What was one of my bad days." Paige said._

 _"So how is therapy going?" Emily asked._

 _"It is going good. Same as last time I went." Paige said._

"Knock, knock." Veronica said from the door. "Can I come in? I just have something to run by Paige."

"Sure, but we will have to wake her up." Emily said.

"Well I can just go over things in the morning before the therapist shows up." Veronica said.

"Therapist?" Emily asked.

"She has to talk to a therapist before she can leave the hospital, given her mental health history. It will be her regular therapist. She will let us know how Paige is doing and what we need to do to help her go from here." Veronica said as she placed a hand on Emily's shoulder.

"What time is all this going to happen? I want to be here for that." Emily asked.

"Your mom will be here, Emily. You and the girls need to go to school. You have already missed three days last week." Veronica said. "You can come over as soon as school is over. You are welcome in our house to be with Paige whenever, and however long you want."

"Ok. Ok. If she can get out of here." Emily said, running her finger over the scar on Paige's wrist.

"She will." Veronica said, taking a seat in the chair by the bed. "Now, the trial will begin a week from tomorrow. So, Paige will be visited by the detectives and be interviewed by them and me. They want to find this place Paige was at and shut it down as soon as possible. They tried to give her some space to settle, but it is time to shut it down." Veronica stared at the foot of the bed and took a deep breath. "Emily, does Paige have a tattoo?"

"A tattoo?" Emily asked.

"It is important to the case." Veronica said.

"She has one." Emily said, looking at Veronica.

"Where?" Veronica asked.

"Umm…."

 _"So I have a surprise to show you." Paige said to Emily. They were sitting in the window seat at Emily's house one night after swim practice._

 _"Oh yea? What is it?" Emily asked, excitedly. Paige stood up and started to take her shirt off. "Ummmm…." Emily stopped talking and let her mouth hang open when she saw what Paige had lifted her shirt for. There under Paige's left breast was the single word, "stärke" written in beautiful cursive. Emily lifted her hand and ran a finger over to word._

 _"So what do you think?" Paige asked, worried that Emily was going to be mad._

 _"What does it mean?" Emily asked._

 _"It's German for "strength". The last thing my grandfather said to me, before he passed was, "you have so much strength in you Paige, more than you know. So, I wanted something that would remind me of that. The German is for him." Paige said. "Do you like it?"_

 _Emily started to stand up, stopping when she was at eye level with the tattoo, examining it. She leaned forward and out her lips to it before pulling Paige into a kiss._

 _"Stärke." Emily said when she pulled back from Paige. "It is perfect and I love it."_

"It is under her left breast." Emily said, feeling her face heat up.

And that is the only one?" Veronica asked. "No number?"

"Number?" Emily asked.

"The doctor noticed something on her ankle yesterday, he didn't notice it at first with the bruising and swelling. It must have been covered by the ankle chain." Veronica said as she lifted the cover off Paige's damaged ankle, revealing the tattoo she was talking about to Emily for the first time.

"32." Emily said. "She didn't have that when she left here."

"And you are positive?" Veronica asked.

"I know everything about her b..bo..body." Emily stuttered out as she realized who she was talking to.

"It's ok Emily, I was young once to." Veronica said with a small laugh.

"What does this have to do with what happened?" Emily asked.

"The detectives think that it is linked to the case. Apparently, a kid turned up here the day after Paige, not in such bad shape. But the doctor said that the kid had a 26 tattooed on his ankle too. With the same wound on it as Paige. Detective Smith thinks they branded people they brought in. And if that is the case, Paige was one of thirty-two people, kids, that this place she was in has or has had. She is our key, to finding the building, if she remembers where she ran from."

"What happens if she can't remember?" Emily asked.

"We'll find them. We're going to make everyone involved in this pay, not just Nick." Veronica said as she stood and walked out of the room.


	9. Chapter 9

"She is sleeping pretty comfortably. You should be able to go home without disturbing her now." Tammy said to Emily as she did her last check on Paige for the night. "Mrs. Hastings will make sure she is ok tonight, I will too."

"I know you both will. It is just hard to leave her right now." Emily said, smoothing a hand over the pale cheek.

"Yes, Miss Fields. Leaving a loved one here must be the hardest things to do. It is also the hardest thing for me to have to watch. People never knowing if they will see their loved ones again. But I can guarantee that she will be here tomorrow."

"They said they were going to keep her here for a few weeks. Not a few days. What happened to that?" Emily asked.

"From what I hear, and you didn't hear this from me, if Paige is in here, they can't use her in court to put her father away. They also can't use her to put the others who are responsible away if she is still in the hospital. The sooner she is released, the sooner this can start to be over for her." Tammy said.

"That is if she passes a psych test tomorrow." Emily said.

"You don't think she will?" Tammy asked.

"No, I believe she will. I also think she will do whatever she can to get out of here. She needs to take care of herself first, before she starts anything for the trial. I know it is important to get all the information from her and shut this down, but at what cost?" Emily asked.

"I don't think Mrs. Hastings will let anything happen to her." Tammy said, rubbing Emily's back. Emily stood from her chair, leaning over and kissing Paige's forehead, whispering an "I love you" before she stepped out of the room into the hallway. She looked up to see her mother and Mrs. Hastings standing in the hallway talking.

"Em, you ready to go home?" Pam asked as Emily approached them.

"Yes. Who will be with her tomorrow, if she gets to leave here." Emily asked, leaning into her mother and wrapping her arms around her.

"Your mother is going to come to the hospital first thing in the morning and then, if she is discharged, will be bringing her back to your house until I can get home. Then she will bring her over and we will get her settled." Veronica said.

"We aren't going to leave her alone either, hun." Pam said as she ran her hand up and down Emily's arm.

"I am just worried about her being alone right now. I don't think she is in a good place." Emily confessed.

"I know. That is why I got her regular therapist, Dr. Nancy Sloan. She is one of the top therapists in Rosewood. Spencer went to her after everything at Radley. I believe with her help, Paige will be feeling better soon." Veronica said, resting a hand on Emily's shoulder, giving it a squeeze. "Well I have an early morning tomorrow. I am heading to the station around 7 to see Nick and ask him a few questions before I start my work on this case."

"Are you going to be able to be in the same room as him?" Pam asked.

"Toby will be in there with me. Or else I will need restrained." Veronica said with a wink towards the two Fields women. "I will see you two tomorrow."

With that Veronica turned and headed out the door. Pam and Emily both peered into Paige's room through the window before turning and heading out the door. Feeling her daughters' hesitation, Pam slowed and loosened her hold on Emily. Emily turned and ran back to the window, looking in with tears in her eyes.

"I don't want to leave her here." Emily said when she felt her mother stand beside her.

"I know Emmy." Pam said as she put an arm around Emily and pulled her tight against her. "I don't want to leave her here either, but Tammy will be with her all night. And I will come by as soon as I get you sent off to school."

"I don't even know how I am supposed to concentrate on school." Emily said.

"Well, you said you are done everything in your classes. That these next three weeks are just catch up days for everyone else. It will go by fast. Enjoy the time with your girls. Soon you will all be heading in different directions. Let's go home, Em. Before Paige wakes up and yells at you for still being here." Pam said the last sentence with a light chuckle that made Emily laugh as well.

"Mom!" Emily yelled from her room as she was getting dressed for school the next day. "Mom!"

"What Emily?" Pam said as she ran into Emily's room, still pulling her hair up.

"I didn't think you were up yet." Emily said.

"Are you kidding? I think I only slept an hour last night. If that much." Pam confessed.

"Make sure you bring her home today, please." Emily pleaded.

"It is up to Paige and her psychologist Em, you know that. If it were up to me, she would have been sleeping safely under this roof last night." Pam said. "But they need to make sure that she is mentally safe too."

"I know. I just have this need to have her with me at all times now. Where I can see her." Emily said, walking down the stairs to the kitchen to grab coffee.

"She will be home soon enough." Pam said.

"To what home? She doesn't really have one now." Emily said, deflating at her own words.

"The Hastings will make sure that she has everything she needs. And she is always welcome here, Em. Always. Not just to eat. Anything she needs, she can come to me. This can be her new home." Pam said. At those words Emily burst into tears, holding her mother close to her and clinging to her.

"Thank you, mom." Emily said, stepping back and wiping at her eyes. "I need to go now, or Spencer will come looking for me."

"I love you." Pam said, kissing her on the cheek.

"I love you too, mom." Emily said.

After her daughter had pulled out of the driveway, Pam went about getting ready for her day. She knew she was going to have her hands full, but she was willing to do anything to make sure Paige was getting better. She hoped that today would go better than the days before, she had a good feeling, seeing as the hospital didn't call her through the night. When Nurse Tammy asked for Paige's emergency contact, Pam put herself down. Knowing if something went wrong through the night, Emily would want to be there first. Pam arrived at the hospital a little after 8 and was met by Veronica in the hallway.

"So, she is up, Tammy said she had a pretty uneventful night. Slept for most of it." Veronica said.

"That is good. I was worried about her first night here without any of us." Pam said.

"Me too." Veronica agreed. "But I am glad she got some rest. Today is going to be stressful, to say the least. Detective Smith wants to interview her first thing. Now Dr. Sloan will be with him the entire time to monitor Paige. If she thinks Paige is getting too stressed with remembering details, he will shut it down and we will try again. I would really like for it to all get done today, the sooner we find them, the better." Veronica said. She looked over Pam's shoulder to see a woman walking towards them with a briefcase.

"Hello. Dr. Erickson told me you would be here at Paige's room. I am Nancy Sloan, Paige's psychiatrist." The woman extended her hand to both Pam and Veronica.

"Hello. I am Veronica Hastings. Paige's lawyer, and as of yesterday, legal guardian. This is Pam Fields. Her daughter is dating Paige." Veronica introduced.

"Ah yes, we have talked about Emily before in a few sessions. Paige seemed to be really smitten by her the last time she had a session with me." Dr. Sloan said to Pam. "Given the circumstances, I would like Paige to come back to see me regularly."

"Absolutely." Veronica agreed.

"Good morning ladies." Detective Smith said, as he walked up to the group. "If everyone is ready, we should really get started. I would love nothing more than to find this shit hole and shut it down tonight."

"May I go in with her first?" Pam asked.

"Yes. I need to make a quick phone call to the station first anyway." Smith said. Pam quietly made her way into Paige's room, where she saw the girl sitting in bed watching the news.

"Good morning dear." Pam said as she walked over to the bed and layed her hand on Paige's arm.

"Good morning Pam." Paige said, turning her head with a small sad smile.

"You know why it is a good day, Paige?" Pam asked.

"Why?" Paige asked, focusing on Pam.

"Because you are alive and safe. I know you might not feel any of those things right now, but you are. And you have the chance today to make sure that no one else has to go to that awful place, and that those that are there now can be free. But if at any point, you feel that it is too much, don't force yourself." Pam said.

"Will you sit with me while I do this?" Paige asked.

"Of course dear." Pam said. "Are you ready?"

"Yes." Paige said. With that Pam turned to the door and waved Veronica, Dr. Sloan and Detective Smith into the room. "I want Pam to sit with me."

"That sounds like a good idea." Veronica said.


	10. Chapter 10

" _Just run in there and get the paper work from Father Adams and Father Thomas. I will explain what we're doing after." Nick said, not making eye contact with his daughter._

" _Dad. Just tell me why we're driving." Paige said._

" _Please just go in and get the papers, Paige." Nick said._

" _Fine." Paige mumbled as she got out of the car and started walking into the church. "I could have spent another day with Em, but no, surprise me with a nice drive to California."_

" _Can I help you?" asked a lady at the front desk._

" _I am Paige McCullers, my dad, Nick, sent me in to get some paperwork." Paige said._

" _Ah, yes, Ms. McCullers. We have been expecting you." A stern voice came from behind her._

" _Expecting me?" Paige asked._

" _Yes. Your father signed you up two weeks ago. Said he would be dropping you off today. My name is Father Thomas. And this is Father Adams." Father Thomas said as Father Adams stepped out from behind a door._

" _I don't know what you are talking about." Paige said as she walked past the two men and headed out the door. Suddenly two more guys, dressed in all black stepped around the building and grabbed ahold of Paige's arms. "Hey! What are you doing? Dad!"_

" _This would be easier if they didn't fight." One of the guys said,_

" _What would be fun about that?" The other said._

" _Dad!" Paige yelled as she tried to fight the two guys off._

" _James, John! Bring her inside before she draws attention." Father Thomas said. The last thing Paige remembers before everything goes black was a pain in the side of her arm, from the needle Father Adams had just stuck in, and the look on her father's face before his car tore off down the road._

"And that was the day that Emily Fields dropped you off at the airport?" Detective Smith asked.

"Yes." Paige said, looking down at her hand that was holding onto Pam Fields. Pam rubbed her thumb back and forth over Paige's hand.

"Are you ok to continue?" Dr. Sloan asked.

"Yes." Paige said. "The next thing I knew I was waking up in a bunk bed in a dark room. That was the first time I was chained to the wall."

' _I see you are awake." Father Thomas said. "Welcome to The Sanctuary. Here we help those who are lost find their way back to the light."_

" _What are you talking about? I am not lost." Paige said, trying to get her bearings._

" _You have sinned Paige McCullers! Knowing the flesh of another female!" Father Thomas yelled out._

" _Emily? What did you do to her?" Paige panicked._

" _Nothing. Her parents chose to let her live a sinned life. You father wants to fix yours." Father Thomas said as he got up in Paige's face. "We just need to show you how you are supposed to be. James! John! Come in her and hold her down so we can mark her." Paige watched as the two guys from earlier came into her room and moved closer to her. One held her legs down while the other held her top half down. "Now try to hold as still as possible dear, this is going to hurt."_

"They tattooed me. The number on my ankle, where the cuff was. They made the comment that I was 'visitor number 32'." Paige said.

"Do you know how many were there?" Detective Smith asked.

"No. Not exactly. In one of my group sessions there were at least 20 kids sitting in a circle." Paige said setting her head back on her pillow and looking at the ceiling.

"Paige." Veronica said, getting the girl to focus on her. Paige heard the door open and saw Toby walk in, in complete Rosewood S.W.A.T. gear. "Can you remember the name of this place? Or at least where it was?"

"It was the Catholic church about 6 miles from your house." Paige said. "That is how I knew to go to your place that night. I remembered your house was close to it that day my dad drove me there." Paige said, breaking down into tears.

"I think it is time for a break." Dr. Sloan said.

"St. Paul's. Got it." Toby said as he walked into the hallway and met with four other officers. "St. Paul's Catholic Church. 6 miles outside of Rosewood on Terrace Lane. Stay off the radios! I don't want anyone finding out or hearing that we are coming. Everyone comes home." With that Toby and the rest of the Rosewood Police left the hospital and met up outside with two neighboring departments. He recounted the location to all standby units. "There are at least 30 kids at this location. No firing your weapon unless you are shot at first. I want everyone brought out alive."

"We only have two more classes Em, and then I will take you to the house." Spencer said as she put an arm around Emily's shoulder.

"I know Spence. I just want to be there. They are doing her interviews today." Emily said.

"Well hopefully, Paige gives them enough information to shut that place down." Aria said. The four girls were sat at a table in the outside corridor. They all had a plate of food sitting in front of them, only Emily wasn't eating.

"Em, you need to eat." Hanna said as she took a bite of her sandwich.

"Yea Em, Paige will know if you haven't taken care of yourself." Spencer said.

"I am just not that hungry." Emily said as she pushed her salad around with her fork.

"For Paige." Hanna said. It was all she had to say to get Emily to take several bites of her salad. After their last two classes the four girls piled into Spencer's car. They headed over to Spencer's house to talk to Veronica.

"Hey mom?" Spencer yelled as they walked into the house.

"In my office, I will be out in a minute!" Veronica yelled down the hall.

"Want anything to drink?" Spencer said as she got waters out of the fridge.

"Sure." Emily said as Melissa walked down the stairs

"Hey girls." She said, stepping in front of Emily, pulling her into a hug. "How are you?"

"Hey Melissa. I am holding up." Emily said, returning the embrace.

"I can't imagine what you are going through. If you need to talk, I am here for you." Melissa said.

"Thank you, Melissa." Emily said.

"Hey Spencer, girls." Veronica said as she came down the hallway, entering the kitchen.

"Hey mom." Spencer said.

"Hey Mrs. Hastings." The other girls said.

"Where is Paige?" Emily said.

"She is still at the hospital, hun. She had a bit of a rough day today and Dr. Sloan thought it would be best for her to stay there, where someone can keep an eye on her." Veronica said. "I will take you over whenever you are ready. She gave us good information today. We were able to find a location, and Toby, along with the rest of the department went there. Their waiting for dark to make a move. We should be hearing from him when their done. I was just on the phone with the precinct. They hadn't heard an update yet."

"I am ready to go now." Emily said, jumping up from her chair.

"Then let's go." Veronica said. Veronica and Emily entered the hospital, walking down the hall where Paige's room was. Pam was standing outside looking into the girl's room through the window.

"Mom." Emily said as she wrapped her arms around Pam. "Thank you for being here today."

"Oh, sweetie. I would do anything for that girl." Pam said. "She is waiting for you. But be warned, she had a rough day today."

"And she needs to rest so we can finish tomorrow." Veronica said.

"Paige?" Emily said as she entered the room.

"Em." Paige said with a small smile.

"How are you?" Emily asked as she bent down to kiss the girl's forehead.

"I can't feel anything." Paige said with a laugh.

"What?" Emily asked.

"Tammy came in and gave me something for my pain. She said I would go to sleep soon, but at least I can't feel these things." Paige said as she poked at her broken ribs.

"Paige. Stop." Emily said as she grabbed both of the girl's hands.

"Oh, it is fine Em. I can't feel it. And if Tammy keeps giving me this medicine, I don't have to feel anything." Paige said with a small laugh. "Now can I have a kiss?"

"Paige." Emily said. Paige pulled on both of Emily's hands, pulling the girl into a heated kiss. "Paige, stop."

"Why Emily?" Paige said bitterly. "Don't you want me?"

"What?" Emily said, taken back.

"Am I dirty now?" Paige said.

"Paige, no." Emily said, taking Paige's hands in her own.

"Just go Emily." Paige said, turning her head away from the girl.

"Paige." Emily said sternly, getting her attention. "You are not dirty to me. I would never think that about you. But I know that you are high right now, and I don't want to take advantage of that."

"I am not high." Paige said with a huff.

"Yes, babe, you are." Emily said, leaning in and kissing the top of Paige's head. "Want to talk about what happened today?"

"Are you sure you want to hear it?" Paige asked, her eyes beginning to droop from the medication. Emily knew that she would be asleep in the matter of minutes.

"I want to know everything." Emily said, listening intently to what Paige said, before the girl stopped talking and started softly snoring.

Toby and the rest of the precinct lined up outside of St. Paul's, full S.W.A.T. gear with loaded shot guns. They moved quietly in the night as one unit. Toby gave the hand signal, Officer Greg opened the front door, to officers stepped inside and cornered the front desk clerk and two of the bodyguards. They handcuffed them and took them to a patrol van as quietly as they could. They continued to quietly evacuate the building. Removing kids and loading them into a bus to take to the hospital when they were done. It wasn't until they got to Father Adams office that they had trouble. Father Adams was sitting at his desk reading a book when his door was pushed open and the room stormed. Toby didn't see Father Thomas enter the room from an adjacent door, pulling a gun from under his robe and firing two shots at Toby. One bullet connected with his thigh, the other with his vest. One officer turned and shot at Father Thomas, connecting with his arm, giving them enough time to tackle the man the ground. Three other officers tackled Father Adams to the ground and handcuffed him. Toby lay on the ground holding his wound as he saw the officers taking out the two older men.

"Alright, Cavanaugh. Let's get you to the hospital, this has been one of the best raids. No causalities. Congratulations." Captain Reynolds said as he helped hoist Toby up.


End file.
